Reflection: "Working with a Remnant"

I have been in several different places recently and hearing lots and lots of stories. When I look back on the Scriptures, it seems rare that God starts with anything big: one Abraham, five loaves and two fish, 12 disciples, 4o days, an extended family, sparrows, a widow, a voice in the wilderness, a paralytic on a mat, five smooth stones, etc. etc. The list goes on and on. So much has been focused on the mega church in our culture, growing the big, that we have lost the art of starting with the small. The twelve grew to the 40, and they the 120, and then the 500, and the world outreach from there. What is the unique dynamic of what you have to work with now? As much as you study where you want to head, become the master of the nuances of where you are now. We were nothing more than a Gentile stump to begin with. Yet, even with that, there is no limit to what we can ever be. God's grace and love.